Mechanical unloading agitator for silos and the like



Nov. 28, 1950 s. MALKE 2,532,238

MECHANICAL UNLOADING AGITATOR FOR SILOS AND THE LIKE Filed April 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g fur/en or KKM/M Nov. 28, 1950 s. MALKE 2,532,238

MECHANICAL UNLOADING AGITATOR FOR SILOS AND THE LIKE Filed April 10, 1946- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wazmw Patented Nov. 28, 1950 IHECHANIGAL UNLOADING AGITATOR FOR SILOS AND THE LIKE Sven Malke, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of New York Application April 10, 1946, Serial No. 660,919

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a mechanical unloading agitator for silos and the like and has particular relation to an agitator to be employed in the bottom of a substantially airtight silo to dislodge silage for removal therefrom without any substantial entry of air into the silo.

Silage generally has been removed from silos by the operator pitching off the top layers of the storage silage. These layers in the ordinary silo are exposed to the air and if not removed soon enough spoil due to mold growth and deterioration. With the silage exposed to air a corn siderable amount spoils and has to be thrown away as it is poisonous to stock. This is expensive. In addition considerable hard labor is required to gain access to the top of the silo and to remove the top layers of silage.

The present invention is directed to an unloading agitator that is built into the bottom of a substantially airtight silo and which dislodges silage for removal from the bottom of the silo without excessive entry of air, thus eliminating not only a silo construction requiring the labor of pitching off the top layers of silage but also eliminating injury to the silage by excessive oxygen.

One object of the invention is to provide an unloading agitator for silos and the like that permits unloading of the silage from the bottom of the silo without any substantial entry of air into the silo.

Another object is to provide a bottom unloading agitator for silos and the like which is generally inexpensive and which will last substantially the life of the silo.

A further object is to provide an unloading agitator for silos and the like which is readily operated even by an inexperienced workman.

Another object is to provide a bottom unioader for a silo with flexible arm members to dislodge silage for removal therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter in connection with the fol lowing description of an embodiment of the in vention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional View, partly in elevation, of the lower portion of a silo wi h the agitator shaft in non-rotating position and the arms of the agitator hanging down parallel thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Figure l, on a reduced scale with the arms of the agitator swung outwardly by rotation of the agitator shaft;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the upper end of the drive shaft and showing a portion of the rotating arms;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line i4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail section of the end of one of the agitator arms; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-section of one of the serrated rings on a flexible arm.

The drawings show a silo comprising in general the shell I provided with a cone shaped bottom section 2 and both of which are formed of metal coated with ceramic enamel 3 and bolted or otherwise secured to the foundation 4.

The shell I is cylindrical and extends upwardly from the foundation any suitable height. The top of shell I is closed by a roof section, not shown.

The cone section 2 has a central opening which is surrounded by the circular neck 5. The unloading chute 6 is suitably secured to neck 5 and extends diagonally downward therefrom to carry off the silage stored within the silo after the same has been dislodged.

Chute 6 is closed against the entry of air, ex-

cept during unloading, by the door I which is hinged to the side walls thereof. Door 1 may be provided with an arrangement such as the eccentric arm and pivot 8 to tighten the door against the gasket material 9 which is disposed between the door and chute, to insure an airtight closure of the chute. Door 1 is opened or closed by the operator standing within the foundation 4 on the floor I0.

Floor Ill may be constructed in a number of different ways but should be provided in. part with a removable section covering a pit or the like to permit removal downwardly from the bottom of the silo of the agitating device which will be described hereinafter. Access to the inside of the foundation 4 is gained through the side opening I I. The operator enters the foundation onto floor It through opening II and the opening is large enough to accommodate a cart, such as the cart l2, to catch and carry off silage flowing from chute 6.

The unloading agitator of the invention has a vertical agitator shaft l3 that extends from substantially the floor Ill of the foundation centrally upwardly through the wall of chute 6 and neck 5 to a line substantially above cone 2.

Shaft l3 supports the flexible arms I4 at the upper end thereof. The gasoline engine I5 is located outside the silo shell, preferably on floor ill of foundation 4, and is provided to drive shaft l3 and rotate arms I l around the silo to dislodge silage for unloading. The shaft [3 may also be rotated by an electric motor or the like.

The drive shaft iii of gasoline engine 25 extends horizontally from engine [5 and into the gear boa: H which is supported on floor 55. The lower end of shaft is is driven from drive shaft iii by the gears 18 in box if. The bearing plate is is provided to support the assembly within the gear box.

Agitator shaft it rotates within the upper and lower bushings 2i and is also supported for rotation by the bearing sleeve 2i which extends between the respective bushings 253 and centrally through the wall of chute 5 and the neck 5 of cone member 2.

The agitator shaft it extends upwardly within the silo from bearing sleeve 2! to Within the normal bridging zone of the silage stored within the silo, as generally indicated by the dotted line in the drawings.

The arms it, which are preferably of one piece construction, are clamped between the block on the upper end of shaft 53 and the cap 2 3 which is bolted to block 23. Block is secured to shaft it by pin and is held against turn ing by the lrey Key 28 is a fiat strip of metal and extends horizontally through the slot 2] in the upper end of shaft 53. Pin 25 besides securing block 23 to shaft is also looks key 255 in place to prevent dislodgement upon rotation.

The block 23 is serrated at the upper end 2%} in the area engaging arms i i to prevent the arms from slipping between the block and cap 2L5 when the arms are rotating.

Jhe arms I i are formed of an outer casing of rubber 29 and the stranded metal cable 3% which is housed within the rubber casing. Clearance is. shown in the drawings between the cable 39 and casing 29. It may be preferable, however, to vulcanize the rubber casing to cable 39 or otherwise provide the same without clearance therebetween.

Arms i i are each provided with the teeth 3| formed integral with ring members clamped to the respective arms and spaced from each other along each arm. The rings on one arm are offset from the rings on the other arm so that the teeth 3% will each bite into the silage along different paths. Fig. 6 illustrates a ring clamped to an arm it. The teeth on each ring may be formed by punching the same outwardly from the sheet metal of the ring or may be strips welded to a central ring.

Each arm 54 is provided at the extreme outer end with the serrated end piece 32. The ends of cable extend into the end pieces 32 and are anchored therein with lead 83 or the like.

When shaft is is not rotated, arms i hang down parallel to the shaft as shown in Figure 1. Upon rotation by shaft 53, as shown in Fig. 2, the arms swing outwardly under centrifugal force toward the shell 6 of the silo to dislodge the stored silage. The arms are of a length to provide clearance between the same and shell 1 so that enamel coating 3 will not be injured.

In operation, after the silo is filled with fodder the door '1 of chute i is closed and the silo stands substantially airtight to eliminate mold growth and deterioration of the silage.

When it is desired to remove silage, door i of chute 6 is opened, the operator starts gasoline engine it? and shaft 13 is revolved therefrom through drive shaft it and gears 53. As shaft l3 revolves, arms i iswing outwardly under centrifugal force into the silage and dislodge the same to fall or flow out of chute 5 and into the cart 2 to be transported to the stock. After removal of sufficient silage the door I is closed a ainst entry of air and tightened into place by operation of eccentric arm 8.

Oxygen which may have entered when chute 6 was open is purged from the silo. For this purpose the engine 55 is declutched from shaft I6 and operated for a short time to drive combustion gases into the silo through a suitable piping connection 3 from the engine exhaust, in the same manner as disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Wesley G. l-fartin, entitled Silo, Serial No. 598,044, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

After silage has been removed several times it has been found that cavitation occurs in the silage within the bottom of the silo as designated in Figure l with the numeral 35, since the silage tends to bridge over in an are within a zone slightly above cone 2 as generally indicated by the dotted line.

The upper end portion of shaft i3, however, is disposed within the silage bridging zone and the arms l4 upon rotation bite into the lower layers of the bridging zone and loosen and dislodge sufficient silage for the needs of the operator.

After a short period it has been found that the silage mass moves downwardly within the silo and fresh layers of silage are available within the bridging zone which are accessible for removal by arms I i.

Under the invention the silage is removed from the bottom of the silo without any injur to the silage by excessive entry of air.

Various embodiments of the invention may be emplo ed within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An unloading agitator for dislodging silage stored within a silo, comprising a vertical agitator shaft extending upwardly within the bottom of the silo and rotated by driving means connected thereto and disposed outside the silo, a

block member secured to the top of said shaft, a

, cap secured to said block, flexible arms clamped between said block and cap and comprising a flexible cable extending transversely of the shaft and having free ends disposed to swing outwardly under centrifugal force when the arms are rotated by said driven shaft to dislodge the stored. silage, and teethed rings secured to the arms and spaced from each other along each arm and offset from the rings of the adjacent arm to bite into the stored silage along different paths and more adequately dislodge the same.

2. An unloading agitator for dislodging silage stored within a silo, comprising a vertical agitator shaft extending upwardly within the bottom of the silo and rotated by driving means connected thereto and disposed outside the silo, a block member secured to the top of said shaft, a cap secured to said block, arm members formed of a flexible cable extending transversely of said shaft and having free ends, said cable being clamped between said block and cap and disposed to swing the free ends thereof outwardly under centrifugal force to dislodge silage within the silo when the arm members are rotated by said vertical shaft driven by the driving means, teethed rings secured to the arms and spaced from each other along each arm. and offset from the rings of the adjacent arm to bite into the stored silage along different paths upon rotation of the arms,

5 6 and serrated end pieces secured to the free ends UNITED STATES PATENTS of the arms for additional dislodgment 0f silage. Number Name Date 1,167,536 Tokheirn Jan. 11, 1916 SVEN MALKE 5 1,543,525 Shiras 1 June 23, 1925 1,676,389 Fletcher July 10, 1928 REFERENCES CITED 1,682,735 Bergerioux Sept. 4, 1928 The following references are of record in the 1 734 32 Merrill Nov, 1929 file of this pa ent: 2,228,421 Taylor Jan. 14, 1941 

